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Baek-Ku
Baek-Ku '''is a South Korean Air Defense Corvette that first appears in Wargame: Red Dragon. History The South Korean gunboat Baek-Ku was actually an American Asheville-class vessel, formerly the USS Benicia, that had been transferred to the South Korean Navy. The Asheville-class originated as a US Navy requirement in the early 1960's for a small vessel to conduct operations in littoral waters, such as in the Caribbean or South East Asia. The result paired powerful gas-turbine engines with 76 and 40 mm guns on a fairly diminutive 240 ton hull, which permitted speeds up to 36 knots. While the all-gun armament was initially sufficient, the fielding by the Soviet Navy of missile boats such as the Osa, armed with anti-ship missiles, meant that the Ashevilles were rapidly outgunned. The US responded by replacing their own vessels' 40mm guns with an ad-hoc guided missile mount; as the US did not field any anti-ship missiles at the time, the Ashevilles were fitted with a variant of the Standard ARM anti-radiation missile. In reality, the Ashevilles never had the capability to use their Standard Missiles against aircraft, as they lacked the requisite Tatar fire control system. Instead, the anti-radiation missiles would have been employed against warships, homing in on their surveillance and fire control radars. In American service, many vessels of the class saw extensive use during the Vietnam war, being used in their intended coastal-waters role. They were considered highly successful when used to interdict and disrupt North Vietnamese supply routes, but proved vulnerable to shore fire when attempts were made to utilize them in rivers in-land. The US Navy disposed of the class beginning in the mid-1970's with a number of the vessels, included the future Paek-Ku, being gifted to allied navies. Two vessels may still be in use, as of 2015, by Columbia. In reality, the Ashevilles never had the capability to use their Standard Missiles against aircraft, as they lacked the requisite Tatar fire control system. Instead, the anti-radiation missiles would have been employed against warships, homing in on their surveillance and fire control radars. Overview The Baek-ku is a single-role warship, intended to offer bolster the anti-aircraft defenses of a BLUFOR fleet. The missile launcher offers very potent anti-air capabilities, but the vessel has only marginal capabilities against ground targets. The Baek-ku is best thought of as an ocean-fairing SAM site, with the vessel's RGM-66D missiles having much the same abilities as the land-based M727 I-HAWK, albeit with somewhat more impressive capability against helicopters. The long range is sufficient to deter all REDFOR anti-ship aircraft, save for the Su-27K, although the practical rate of fire is somewhat inferior to the far larger Kongo and Hatsuyuki class vessels, due to the limitations of the twin rail launcher. Although the twelve missiles carried appear generous by comparison with land-based weapons, the Baek-ku may exhaust it's loadout in extended engagements, especially if the vessel attempts to intercept enemy anti-ship missiles. Carried additionally to the missile armament is a single 76mm gun, mounted on the bow. This weapon not the commonly carried Oto-Melara, but rather the Second World War vintage Mk 34, which has inferior characteristics compared with the later, more common weapon. It will suffice to defeat small coasters such as the Shmel, or beat off missile boats such as the Komar, but engagements against similarly-armed adversaries is not recommended. The low accuracy, range and HE power of this weapon additionally serves to make it unattractive for shore bombardment. The armament is somewhat inexplicably rounded out by a dual .50 caliber machine gun mount. This weapon is purely cosmetic, as its short range and low firepower make it all but irrelevant for naval combat. Overall, the Baek-ku is well suited to provide air cover for flotillas of larger ships. Several of such vessels can provide an efficient and cost-effective anti-air umbrella for warships such as the Type 21. When separated from more potent combatants, however, the lack of CIWS and the mediocre surface weaponry will leave these vessels highly vulnerable. Weapons'Category:Red Dragon naval support